Press

TruthDig

“Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes joined the growing group of tech experts, privacy advocates, and politicians publicly raising alarm about the “staggering” power of chief executive Mark Zuckerberg—and, in a lengthy New York Times op-ed published Thursday, called on the government to break up the social media behemoth.

Hughes, who left Facebook over a decade ago, is now a co-chairman of the Economic Security Project and a senior adviser at the Roosevelt Institute.…Greer’s op-ed came just two days after the groups Color of Change and Majority Action issued an advisory to Facebook shareholders encouraging them withhold their support for the nomination of Zuckerberg to the company’s board of directors at the annual shareholder meeting scheduled for May 30.”

NonProfit Quarterly

“Demands for Mark Zuckerberg’s removal as the unquestioned ruler of three of the world’s most used internet platforms have grown over the last week following a call from Color of Change and Majority Actionfor stakeholders to withhold their support for Zuckerberg’s reelection to the board of directors. His sitting on and chairing the board, say the two groups in their advisory to shareholders, gives him essentially unlimited power, since he also holds a super-voting share of the stock and sits in the CEO position. In light of Facebook’s violations of public trust and individual privacy, this, they say, is unacceptable and creates escalating crises and cascading risks for shareholders—not to mention the rest of us and the very institution of democracy.”

Prosyscom Tech

“On May 30, Facebook shareholders will have to decide if they want to re-elect MarkZuckerberg as the company’s CEO. Two activist groups are totally opposed to it and have started a campaign calling for him not to keep him on the management team.

Color of Change and Majority Action, an Internet civil rights group and a corporate accountability organization respectively, consider Mark Zuckerberg and his Facebook design to be problematic. Among other things, they criticize him for being able to do what he wants with his 57.7% share. Color of Change also sees a problem in Facebook’s structure itself, explaining that “lasting change to address the misinformation, discrimination, violent movements and data breaches that put users, especially Black users, at risk cannot subject to the whims of a single person”.”

The Guardian

“A cofounder of Facebook has called for the government to break up the company, warning that Mark Zuckerberg’s power is “unprecedented and un-American”.…..The activist groups Color of Change and Majority Action are urging Facebook’s shareholders to vote against Zuckerberg’s nomination to the board at a 30 May meeting. They are also calling for the creation of an independent government data protection agency to rein in his influence, saying the executive has proven he is unwilling or unable to address the growing concerns surrounding the platform.”

Francois Charron

“On May 30, there will be a shareholder meeting of Facebook. A vote will be held on whether Mark Zuckerberg should be re-elected head of social media. This one might not survive there as the pressure is strong....A message that is also echoed by two organizations called Color of Change and Majority Action who are currently pressuring Facebook shareholders to remove Mark Zuckerberg.”

Newsvire

“A year ago, under Senate questioning, Mark Zuckerberg dodged, denied, and deflected criticisms of the company he cofounded. A year later, with major fines looming, and Facebook’s stock price having risen again by 11%, the CEO’s strategy has evolved: the company is now hailing the virtues of privacy and openly courting reform in what seems like an effort to set favorable boundaries for any data privacy legislation. But criticism of Zuckerberg continues to grow. On Wednesday, digital rights group Fight for the Future joined a growing chorus of activists and investors calling for a change to Facebook’s leadership.….Color of Change and Majority Action are calling for investors to withhold votes on a nomination of Zuckerberg to the company’s board at the May 30 meeting and asking investors to support proposals calling for an independent board chair, expanded transparency, equal voting power among shareholders, and a requirement that directors in uncontested elections be chosen by holders of a majority of votes cast. Two of the proposals call for annual reports on risks of content governance and gender pay inequity. As is customary for corporate boards of directors facing shareholder proposals regarding internal governance, Facebook’s board responded to each of the proposals by recommending that stockholders vote no.”

ValueWalk

“WASHINGTON — Eli Kasargod-Staub, executive director of Majority Action, a nonprofit organization that empowers shareholders to hold corporations accountable to high standards of corporate governance, social responsibility, and long-term value creation, and Josh Zinner, CEO of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR), released the following statement in response to Sturm Ruger & Company Inc (NYSE:RGR)’s annual general meeting today in which shareholders asked the company to reverse its policy of refusing to meet with investors.”

The Washington Post, SF Gate

“Big investment firms are again using their vast stock holdings to pressure corporate executives over everything from boardroom diversity and political activity to food waste and plans to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.

But the Securities and Exchange Commission, which has widened its definition of shareholder “micromanaging,” has sided with company management and has issued guidance effectively keeping a wide array of shareholder resolutions off annual-meeting ballots.

One of the highest-profile battles is being waged over a proposal that would have urged ExxonMobil to disclose short-, medium- and long-term greenhouse-gas targets “aligned with” reductions established by the Paris climate agreement in 2015 in an effort to limit global warming to two degrees Celsius, if not 1.5 degrees.….Majority Action has two resolutions at Duke Energy, one aimed at forcing transparency about lobbying and political spending and the other seeking a report on public health risks posed by coal operations. The group also lamented that Duke renominated former steel executive Daniel DiMicco to its board; DiMicco has said that he does not believe in the need for climate policies.”

NDTV Gadgets

“Activists angry with Facebook are taking their complaints to the next level: Shareholders.

Civil rights group Color of Change and Majority Action, a group focused on corporate accountability, are launching a new campaign to persuade shareholders to oust chief executive Mark Zuckerberg from the board of directors.

They're urging them to limit Zuckerberg's "sweeping" control of the company in the wake of "insufficient response" to a series of crises - ranging privacy incidents to the rampant spread of disinformation by Russians ahead of the 2016 election. Ahead of a Facebook investor meeting scheduled for later this month, the groups want to bring awareness to the broad power Zuckerberg wields as both the company's chairman and chief executive - who also holds majority voting rights within the company.

Turning to shareholders is a prominent example of a relatively new way activists are trying to influence the direction of Silicon Valley giants - especially in the absence of regulatory action from Washington.”

Fast Company

“A year ago, under Senate questioning, Mark Zuckerberg dodged, denied, and deflected criticisms of the company he cofounded. A year later, with major fines looming, and Facebook’s stock price having risen again by 11%, the CEO’s strategy has evolved: the company is now hailing the virtues of privacy and openly courting reform in what seems like an effort to set favorable boundaries for any data privacy legislation. But criticism of Zuckerberg continues to grow. On Wednesday, digital rights group Fight for the Future joined a growing chorus of activists and investors calling for a change to Facebook’s leadership.

“In this gilded age of Big Tech, Silicon Valley’s royal families have sat in their castles, amassing treasure mined from a mountain of our data, seemingly untouchable as they weather scandal after scandal while they offer empty apologies and their power grows,” writes Evan Greer, deputy director of Fight for the Future, in an op-ed in The Guardian. “It’s time we prove that these kings are not gods. It’s time we dethrone Mark Zuckerberg.”

Fight for the Future’s call for resignation comes days after digital civil rights group Color of Change and corporate accountability organization Majority Action sent a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), informing the agency that they will urge Facebook shareholders to not nominate Zuckerberg to lead Facebook’s board at the company’s investor meeting on May 30.”

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is wrapping up a long-running investigation into Facebook over its data practices and is expected to levy a multibillion-dollar fine. But a report from The New York Times said that a rift has opened at the agency over whether to also hold executives like Zuckerberg liable in any enforcement action.….On Monday, two organizations, Color of Change and Majority Action, urged Facebook’s shareholders to remove Zuckerberg from his perch as chairman of the board.”

AndroidPit

“On May 30, Facebook shareholders will have to decide if they want to re-elect Mark Zuckerberg as the company's CEO. Two activist groups are totally opposed to it and have started a campaign calling for him not to keep him on the management team.

Color of Change and Majority Action, an Internet civil rights group and a corporate accountability organization respectively, consider Mark Zuckerberg and his Facebook design to be problematic. Among other things, they criticize him for being able to do what he wants with his 57.7% share. Color of Change also sees a problem in Facebook's structure itself, explaining that "lasting change to address the misinformation, discrimination, violent movements and data breaches that put users, especially Black users, at risk cannot subject to the whims of a single person.”

Sentinel & Enterprise Business

“Activists angry with Facebook are taking their complaints to the next level: Shareholders.

Civil rights group Color of Change and Majority Action, a group focused on corporate accountability, are launching a new campaign to persuade shareholders to oust chief executive Mark Zuckerberg from the board of directors.

They're urging them to limit Zuckerberg's "sweeping" control of the company in the wake of "insufficient response" to a series of crises -- ranging privacy incidents to the rampant spread of disinformation by Russians ahead of the 2016 election. Ahead of a Facebook investor meeting scheduled for later this month, the groups want to bring awareness to the broad power Zuckerberg wields as both the company's chairman and chief executive -- who also holds majority voting rights within the company.”

Civicist

“Color of Change and Majority Action have launched a campaign to oust Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg from the company’s board of directors, The Hill’s Emily Birnbaum reports. They say that Zuckerberg’s absolute control of the company “is a threat to the civil rights of its Black users and to the financial interests of its shareholders.”

The Mercury News

“Facebook Chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg is facing increasing pressure this week as two advocacy groups urged shareholders to withhold their votes for his renomination to the company’s board, and two senators urged the FTC to hold him personally responsible for the tech giant’s privacy failures.

On May 30, Facebook investors will consider several shareholder proposals related to management of the company, and a common theme among them is criticism that Zuckerberg holds too much power. Civil rights advocacy group Color of Change and corporate-accountability group Majority Action this week filed a notice of exempt solicitation with the Securities and Exchange Commission, in which they urge Facebook shareholders not to vote for Zuckerberg for chairman. They said the company’s response to its many scandals is insufficient.

“Lasting change to address the misinformation, discrimination, violent movements and data breaches that put users, especially black users, at risk cannot be subject to the whims of a single person,” Color Of Change President Rashad Robinson said in a statement.”

FOX News

“Two nonprofits are mobilizing to push shareholders to remove Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg from his post as chair of the tech giant's board.

Ahead of Facebook's shareholder meeting at the end of May, the civil rights group Color of Change is harnessing the power of its 1.5 million members in partnership with investor advocacy organization Majority Action to educate the company's independent shareholders and urge them to vote 'no' on Zuckerberg remaining as board chair.

"Facebook's governance structure is a threat to the civil rights of its Black users and to the financial interests of its shareholders," said Rashad Robinson, president of Color of Change, in a statement provided to Fox News. "Lasting change to address the misinformation, discrimination, violent movements and data breaches that put users, especially Black users, at risk cannot be subject to the whims of a single person....Shareholder value is threatened by the company's failure to make fixing civil rights violations an operational priority."”

Washington Post

“Activists angry with Facebook are taking their complaints to the next level: Shareholders.

Civil rights group Color of Change and Majority Action, a group focused on corporate accountability, are launching a new campaign to persuade shareholders to oust chief executive Mark Zuckerberg from the board of directors.

They're urging them to limit Zuckerberg’s “sweeping” control of the company in the wake of “insufficient response” to a series of crises -- ranging privacy incidents to the rampant spread of disinformation by Russians ahead of the 2016 election. Ahead of a Facebook investor meeting scheduled for later this month, the groups want to bring awareness to the broad power Zuckerberg wields as both the company’s chairman and chief executive -- who also holds majority voting rights within the company.”

Politico

“Advocacy groups critical of Facebook's track record on privacy and diversity are calling on the company's shareholders to oppose CEO Mark Zuckerberg being reappointed as chairman of the board at an annual meeting later this month.

Color of Change and Majority Action argue in a shareholder advisory released today that Zuckerberg's dual role as chief executive and chairman, as well as his voting power, gives him too much control over the company.

Under his leadership, the groups contend, Zuckerberg has failed to adequately address concerns about misinformation, harassment and data privacy, particularly the impact those issues have on users from minority backgrounds.”

The groups, Color of Change and Majority Action, notified the Securities and Exchange Commission in a filing about their intent to advise Facebook's shareholders. The move came after the Facebook board of directors declined to institute shareholder proposals for reforms to governance and best practices.”

According to Eli Kasargod-Staub, executive director of Majority Action, the notice, which is filed through the SEC, effectively outlines that Zuckerberg is not a “responsible choice” for the chair’s seat.

“Facebook really exemplifies what happens when corporate governance goes amuck,” says Kasargod-Staub. “We’ve seen the impacts on shareholders, we’ve seen the impact on vulnerable users, we’ve seen the impacts internationally.”

The Hill

“Two activist groups on Monday launched a campaign to oust CEO Mark Zuckerberg from Facebook's board of directors, arguing his "sweeping" control of the company presents a barrier to civil rights and privacy reform.

Digital civil rights group Color of Change and Majority Action, a corporate accountability organization, told the Securities and Exchange Commission that they will be urging Facebook shareholders to withhold their support for nominating Zuckerberg to the board.

The two groups argue that Facebook's corporate structure gives Zuckerberg "control without adequate checks," pointing out that he is CEO and holds 57.7 percent of voting rights in the company.”

Kallanish Energy

“A grass-roots coalition, led by the group Majority Action has delivered a petition with more than 129,000 signatures to BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, Kallanish Energy reports.

The petition asks BlackRock, Vanguard and Fidelity to use their voting power to support key climate change-related shareholder resolutions, and to vote against directors who are not serving long-term investors’ best interests at nine major upcoming shareholder meetings.

Those annual general meetings, which include resolutions on climate change and political transparency will involve Amazon, Anadarko Petroleum, BlackRock, Chevron, Duke Energy, Dominion, ExxonMobil, Ford and General Motors. The Duke Energy vote is today.

BlackRock, the world’s largest investor in fossil fuels, has supported only 10% of climate-change resolutions, critics say.”

Wall Street Italia (Originally in Italian)

“A coalition of "bottom-up" shareholders, led by the Majority Action group, handed over a petition from over 129,000 signatures to BlackRock , the world's largest asset manager, with the aim of raising awareness in society to support pro-environment decisions. In fact, BlackRock has significant holdings in Amazon , ExxonMobil, Ford, General Motors and other important companies that will soon have to express their views on some resolutions that can make their business more sustainable. The asset manager, therefore, will be able to use his shareholder's weight to support the resolutions that will be proposed in the coming weeks, in a total of nine shareholders' meetings. In addition to BlackRock, the same petition was also addressed to Vanguard, a passive fund giant, and Fidelity.”

Business Green

“A coalition of groups led by Majority Action has delivered over 129,000 petition signatures to BlackRock in an effort to force the world's largest asset manager to use its voting powers to force companies to act responsibly on climate.”

The Motley Fool

“America's largest gunmaker, Sturm, Ruger (NYSE:RGR) is once again the target of activist investors who want to express dissatisfaction with management's response to last year's shareholder ballot initiative that required Ruger to report on the risks facing its business...

A targeted response:

The activists did not like Ruger's response, leading Majority Action -- a group that bills itself as a platform that "empowers individuals and groups to organize for progressive causes," along with the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR), one of the groups behind last year's proxy fight -- to attempt to penalize Ruger chairman Michael Jacobi and director Sandra Froman. Froman also serves as a director of the National Rifle Association (NRA), where she has held several executive positions, including president between 2005 and 2007.”

Financial Advisor

“Majority Action and the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility said Wednesday they have called on shareholders of Sturm, Ruger & Co. to withhold support from the board chairman, Michael Jacobi, and Director Sandra Froman, a former president of the National Rifle Association. The complaint is that the gun manufacturer has refused to engage with shareholders about risk oversight, governance failures and the loss of shareholder value.

Sturm Ruger has experienced declining sales and profitability two years in a row, and it has seen a 12.9 percent decline in total shareholder return since November 2016.

Sturm Ruger and other gunmakers have come under increased pressure from investors and gun safety advocates to help provide solutions to mounting episodes of gun violence, said Majority Action and ICCR. This mounting pressure follows the 2018 Parkland, Fla., high school massacre. It also follows a lawsuit against a competing firearm manufacturer, Remington Arms Company, filed by the families of victims in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Conn.”

Reuters

“BOSTON (Reuters) - Investor activists said on Monday they will campaign to unseat two directors at gunmaker Sturm Ruger & Co, citing what they called its resistance to their concerns after shareholders won a battle over safety at last year’s annual meeting.

The plan for this year’s gathering, set for May 8 in New Hampshire, promises to renew a debate over how the company might respond to a series of mass shootings across the United States, including at schools, houses of worship and workplaces.

The activists include Majority Action, a liberal-leaning shareholder group, and religious investors affiliated with the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility. While they hold a small number of Sturm Ruger shares, last year members of Interfaith Center won backing for a resolution from fund companies including top Ruger shareholders BlackRock Inc and Vanguard Group, showing an ability to set the agenda.”

Winston-Salem Journal

“An influential shareholder group will not support two Sturm, Ruger & Co. board members for re-election for the second consecutive year. Majority Action, a left-leaning shareholder-advocacy group, and Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility, submitted the warning that Ruger disclosed in a regulatory filing Tuesday. Ruger had at last count 334 employees at its plant in Mayodan.”

Bloomberg

"Majority Action, a left-leaning shareholder activist group that holds American Outdoor shares, faults the company for “abruptly” shuttering the Smith & Wesson Academy without adequately disclosing its plan and for insufficient enforcement of company policy regarding conflicts. It also recently accused company managers of violating an investor resolution regarding political contributions. The group said American Outdoor should have disclosed $1.5 million in gifts to the National Rifle Association and the National Shooting Sports Foundation...

Over the years, American Outdoor’s directors have shared various financial interests well beyond the company. For example, Saltz and another American Outdoor director, Chairman Barry Monheit, are on the board of Modern Round, a VirTra partner in a budding chain of entertainment facilities combining virtual-reality shoot-outs with food and beverages. Saltz is Modern Round’s chairman and majority shareholder. That involvement, which the two men disclosed to investors, presumably gives the pair an interest in the prosperity of VirTra, Majority Action says."

Forbes

INTERVIEW: "This interview with Eli Kasargod-Staub and James Rucker, co-founders of Majority Action, is part of The Money Story Behind the Story series that examines the role of money in critical current events. It covers their ground-breaking work holding gun manufacturers accountable for their impact. Notably, they have been taking a close look at the actions of board members of Sturm, Ruger & Co. and American Outdoor Brands Corporation (AOBC), commonly known as Smith & Wesson—a unique tactic in the broader field of shareholder activism."

Reuters

"The big fund firms “have to look at sensitivities” of their clients and business partners, said Brian Rafn, principal of Morgan Dempsey Capital Management in Milwaukee, who described himself as a gun-rights supporter and says the firm voted all its 80,000 or so shares with Sturm Ruger’s management...

Eli Kasargod-Staub, co-founder of Majority Action, a group that had campaigned for top funds to vote against Sturm Ruger director Sandra Froman, a past president of the National Rifle Association, called the votes “a failure of leadership” by the fund managers."

CNBC

"Another community group, Majority Action, is organizing retail investors to push big fund companies like BlackRock and Vanguard, Sturm Ruger's biggest shareholders, to assert their voting power. The group organized about six weeks ago, seeing now as a crucial moment for changing the gun industry."

Mother Jones

On Tuesday night, Majority Action, a shareholders activist group, began the process of submitting a shareholder advisory with the Securities and Exchange Commission challenging Froman’s position on the board and citing “archival records” revealing “that she worked with Shockley over at least a three-year period.” The group intended to point out that the Southern Poverty Law Center has called Shockley “an ardent eugenicist whose theories of black racial inferiority eventually made him an academic pariah.”